


Falling in Love at a Vintage Clothing Shop

by waltzforthemoon



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: AU where somehow it's possible for Tifa and Aerith to have their shopping date lol, Alternate Universe, Canon Compliant, F/F, Fluff, Love Confessions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:14:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25757185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/waltzforthemoon/pseuds/waltzforthemoon
Summary: Tifa and Aerith finally get to go on their shopping date and sapphic yearning ensues
Relationships: Aerith Gainsborough/Tifa Lockhart
Comments: 4
Kudos: 62





	Falling in Love at a Vintage Clothing Shop

**Author's Note:**

> Let's pretend that this is still in early FFVII and the plate didn't fall and Tifa and Aerith got to be happy and go on that shopping date to buy stuff for Tifa's bar. I'm sure there may be many other AerTi shopping fics, but truly there will never be enough fic about the shopping date these two perfect girls deserve to have *__*

The day had finally come for Tifa and Aerith to go on their long-awaited shopping date. Tifa was so excited to have Aerith join her as they ventured into all the topside shops that had items she’d never been able to access in the slums. It was a day full of wonder, laughter, and trying new things…it was as perfect as Tifa imagined it would be—even better since she now had Aerith to share it with.

Late in the afternoon, the two girls (and Cloud, their pack chocobo for the day) were leisurely walking along one of the busiest shopping streets in Sector 7 when Aerith spotted one more shop she wanted to go into before they went home.

“Hey… how about we go in here? It says it’s a vintage clothing shop—I bet there are all sorts of interesting things here!” Aerith excitedly told Tifa.

Tifa grinned at her. “Sure, we could take a look!”

The shop had mostly second-hand clothing, but considering that most of the stock once belonged to Midgar’s wealthy elite, the clothes were still in better condition and of better quality than what you could find in a shop in the slums on a lucky day.

Aerith and Tifa walked along racks and racks of dresses of all different colors and styles, and Tifa stopped in her tracks when she saw something that caught her eye.

It was a short gold dress that had sparkling sequins and embroidery along the bodice, and the rest of the dress was a shining satin. Tifa didn’t normally find things that caught her eye in clothing shops…but she felt like she wanted this dress.

“You should try that on,” she unexpectedly heard Aerith say from right next to her.

“Oh…it’s too flashy for me, isn’t it?” Tifa asked with a nervous laugh. “I mean…when will I ever even have the chance to wear it?”

Aerith put her hands on her hips. “You don’t need an excuse to wear a nice dress somewhere, Tifa. Not with that body… Plus, I bet you’ll look amazing in it!”

“Wait—what did you say about my body?” Tifa asked.

Aerith giggled. “Come on… you were eyeing it… so just try it on! That’s the fun in going to stores like this—you can try on anything you want even if you don’t buy it!”

“I guess you’re right…”

“Come on!” Aerith pulled Tifa by the wrist and then folded her hand into hers as she walked up to the store attendant to let them into the dressing room area.

Even though it was probably the twentieth time she and Aerith had held hands, Tifa’s heart still stirred and went into overdrive every time she felt Aerith’s hands on hers. Aerith probably didn’t think much of it herself, but for Tifa… she started to wonder if maybe there was something else going on to make her heart react like that. After all, Cloud has held her hand sometimes to rescue her from things in battle, but… it never made her feel quite like this.

Tifa was brought back to the present when the attendant opened the door to the dressing cubicle she was to go into, and Aerith gently pushed her inside before handing her the gold dress.

“I’ll wait for you outside,” Aerith told her with a grin as she shut the door.

“You should try out some clothes, too, Aerith,” Tifa protested from inside the cubicle.

“Oh, I will…but I want to see you try that on first!”

Tifa felt her cheeks warm as she saw Aerith’s boots through the open space beneath the dressing room door. She was really going to wait…just to see Tifa in this dress?

Tifa glanced at the dress after she hung it up on one of the hooks in the cubicle. She knew from all the straps on the back that it would show a lot of skin, but in a more tasteful way than the way she dressed to infiltrate Don Corneo’s mansion. Before that mission… she had never really shopped for herself like this—not for dresses like this, anyway.

With a short exhale, Tifa got undressed and surprisingly put on the gold dress without too much difficulty. She was even able to zip it up by herself and was pleased that she didn’t have to fuss too much with the bodice, which fit nearly perfectly around her chest without even showing any side-boob. Her ribs and back were exposed, but the skirt modestly rested a few inches above her knees and she could move easily.

“Sounds like you’re done… can I see?” Aerith asked from outside.

Tifa smiled and opened the door. “Well… here I am.”

Aerith’s eyes widened as she looked Tifa up and down and a grin slowly made its way from one side of her mouth to the other.

“Wow… I love that color on you!” Aerith said as she clapped her hands on her own cheeks. “Tifa… you look perfect! Like a goddess!”

“It’s not… too much? With all the sparkles?”

“No! Not at all!” Aerith protested as she began to quickly circle around Tifa.

Tifa shyly folded her hands behind her and glanced down with a nervous laugh.

“Tifa, you are such a beauty—look!”

Aerith pushed Tifa back into the cubicle and gently tilted up her chin so she could look at herself in the mirror.

“Wow…you have some killer calves…and thighs…” Aerith remarked. “Sorry! Just admiring, since I have chicken legs in comparison.”

Tifa blushed. “…Thank you, Aerith. You really think this isn’t too revealing?”

“It reveals all your impressive back muscles…” Aerith said with a suggestive raise of her eyebrows.

Tifa blushed at the comment. “Oh…”

“That’s a compliment!” Aerith quickly followed up. “Besides, it’s not even showing your stomach, which you usually have on display.”

“I guess you’re right,” Tifa remarked. “I just never really wear stuff like this, so it almost feels like I’m naked.”

“Is it comfortable?” Aerith asked.

“Yeah, actually! It's supportive up top—and the skirt’s not too short, it actually comes with shorts sewed on the inside! I could probably even fight in this…but I wouldn’t, of course.”

“I’d love to watch you fight in that…” Aerith remarked with a smirk as she met eyes with Tifa through the mirror.

Tifa spun her head to look at Aerith. “Huh?”

“Anyway…you look amazing as usual Tifa,” Aerith told her. “I think you should get it!”

“Really?”

“It’s on sale!” Aerith said as she looked at the tag on the back. “If you don’t buy it, I will—think of it as a gift!”

“A gift?”

“To commemorate our first date,” Aerith said with a bright grin.

Tifa smiled back at her. “I can buy it on my own, Aerith.”

“Oh… that’s okay, then, too.” Tifa noticed that Aerith’s smile dropped. Did Aerith want to buy it for her?

“We just need to find shoes to go with it!” Aerith continued in a chipper tone.

“Wait—what about you? Aerith, don’t you want to try on some clothes?” Tifa asked.

“Oh! Sure… will you help me?” Aerith asked as she clasped her hands together. “Cloud doesn’t think much of my clothes. Neither did the lady in that massage parlor…” Aerith sighed as she looked down at her skirt. “I mean… I like my clothes…”

Tifa tensed her brow, offended that anyone could make Aerith think for even a second that she wasn’t as beautiful or nice to look at as she was. “Who cares what Cloud or what anyone else thinks? You’re so pretty, I bet you could make a potato sack look like a cute outfit!”

Aerith blushed. “Oh… thank you, Tifa.”

Tifa’s eyes widened as she realized how passionate she was getting over such a small thing. “Yeah, umm. Anyway, go look for something you like while I look for some shoes!”

Aerith smiled wide. “You got it!”

+

Just as Tifa found some golden strappy shoes to go with the dress she picked out, she heard Aerith call to her.

“Tifa…can you help me?”

“Oh—Sure!” Tifa went inside the cubicle and set down her clothes. Then she saw Aerith wearing a copper-red lace dress with long sleeves and a short sheath-like skirt. The dress didn't have any straps and Aerith's shoulders were bare. Even though she didn't have it on all the way, Tifa already thought Aerith looked stunning.

“I can’t reach the buttons on my back, can you help me?” Aerith asked as she turned around.

The back of the dress was open with about a dozen buttons that needed to be looped together along the middle. Tifa swallowed as she approached Aerith, admiring the smooth, delicate skin on her back, spotting birthmarks that probably only a few people even knew Aerith had.

Aerith stood still with her arms at her side as she waited for Tifa to start buttoning up the dress. Tifa tried to steady her own shaking hands so she could begin to button the dress starting from the base of Aerith’s spine.

 _Curse this dress for having so many buttons!_ Tifa thought to herself. _And curse my nerves…because Aerith is so beautiful and seeing her like this… it’s making my heart malfunction again!_

“Is something wrong?” Aerith asked in a soft voice.

Tifa had been buttoning up each button as quickly as she could, but she found herself having to try to pull the fabric to close the gap near the center of Aerith’s back.

“Uh… no, it’s just… I don’t think I can close anymore buttons without ripping the fabric,” Tifa explained as she took her hands off of her.

“Oh, darn! Well, I guess I’ll just have to start over and look for something else.” Aerith shrugged the sleeves off of her arms and that’s when Tifa noticed she hadn’t been wearing a bra.

“Aerith!” Tifa exclaimed as she turned around, flustered at nearly seeing Aerith’s breasts.

“What?!” Aerith exclaimed.

“I… can go get you a new dress, a size up maybe?” Tifa suggested.

“Why are you standing like that?” Aerith asked. “But…sure! I’ll be waiting, no need to rush.”

Tifa tried to calm herself down and fanned her face after that embarrassing blunder.

“Hey, what’s taking you two so long?” Cloud had walked into the shop and was standing near the opening looking like a toddler in need of a nap. “And why are you so red?”

“Oh—Cloud!” Tifa exclaimed with a blush. If she was honest…she had completely forgotten that he was even waiting for her and Aerith outside with the rest of the things they bought that day.

“Well, are you buying anything from here?” Cloud asked.

“Oh—yeah, it’s just… Aerith is trying on a dress but it wasn’t the right size, so I’m getting her a bigger size.”

Cloud sighed. “I’m getting hungry. Think we’ll be done soon?”

Tifa frowned. “If you didn’t want to come, you could have said so…”

“You said you’d pay me if I was your pack chocobo for a day, right?” Cloud asked.

Tifa bit her lip and mentally cursed herself for bringing Cloud along—even though at the time they suggested it, she and Aerith had a good laugh about him being their pack chocobo so he could carry all their things.

“I’ll buy you dinner, Cloud—just be a patient chocobo and wait outside!” Tifa said with a subtly threatening smile.

Cloud pouted, “But—“

“Outside!”

Tifa didn’t hear another word as she quickly searched for another dress that was the same color Aerith tried on, but in a different size. When that was done, she practically ran back to the dressing room.

“Aerith, I have your dress. I brought two just in case!”

“Oh, well come in!” Aerith answered from inside the cubicle.

Tifa obliged and opened the door to see Aerith standing in front of her in nothing but her panties.

“Aerith! I’m so sorry!” Tifa yelped and closed her eyes, but she couldn’t get the brief image of Aerith’s bare chest out of her mind. It made her flush with heat—and yet she felt so guilty about it.

“About what?” Aerith calmly asked.

“You’re not wearing a bra…! I’m sorry!” Tifa replied, trying to calm her heart down as she offered Aerith the dresses in her outstretched hand.

“Silly,” Aerith giggled. “Of course I’m not wearing a bra when I’d just have to take it off again to try on the dress!”

Tifa still had a hand over her eyes. “But don’t you care about other people seeing you like that?”

“Not about you seeing,” Aerith replied with a calm tone. “You can open your eyes, Tifa.”

Tifa blushed and glanced over at her, peeking through her fingers to see that Aerith was now holding one of the dresses over her chest.

Aerith nervously giggled, “Are you really that bashful, Tifa? Or…is the sight of me naked…offensive?

“What? How can you say that?”

“I mean… you have an amazing body, and my body’s fine, I guess,” Aerith replied as she glanced at the floor.

“Aerith, what are you saying? You’re perfect!” Tifa protested.

Aerith blushed now as she looked down. “You really think so?”

“From the moment I met you, I thought ‘I’d never seen a more beautiful girl in my life.’ And even better, she ended up being so kind and caring… and she knows how to put Cloud in his place!” Tifa giggled at that. “And you have these eyes that are like jewels, and a laugh that makes everyone else around them happy. At least…it makes me happy. Aerith, you’re the most perfect person in the world I’ve ever met!”

Aerith was quiet for several seconds as she gave Tifa a warm gaze. “Wow… You really know how to sweep a girl off her feet, Tifa…”

“Huh?”

“I’m sorry if I startled you by not having a bra on,” Aerith said. “The last thing I’d want to do is offend you or make you uncomfortable.”

“You didn’t…” Tifa softly explained. “I just was worried about you. After all, your naked body is your most private possession. Shouldn’t that be reserved only for special people in your life to see?”

Aerith gently smiled at her. “But you are one of the most special people in my life, Tifa...”

Tifa didn’t know how to respond to that and felt her whole face and body warm again.

Aerith turned around and began to put on the dress Tifa picked up for her. “This one seems to fit a bit better than the last one! Want to button me up?”

Tifa moved forward and gently brushed Aerith’s long hair to the front before she got started on buttoning her up. Aerith let out a soft sigh.

“Your hands are so careful. And soft,” Aerith remarked. “Even though you use your fists to fight… you couldn’t tell from how soft your fingers are.”

Tifa froze for a second, but then continued buttoning the buttons at Aerith’s shoulders.

“If any one of us is perfect… it’s you, Tifa. You with your gentleness and the way you always look out for other people…and how sweet you always are—and yet, you can destroy monsters in one hit and you’re so strong that you can crush a man’s head with your thighs!”

Tifa blushed and grinned. “I’m not sure I’ve ever done that before…”

“But you could!” Aerith said with a smirk.

“You’re not wrong,” Tifa laughed back. She finished buttoning the dress just below Aerith’s neck and gently moved her hair back to its normal place on her back, brushing her fingers through it. “There. All done.”

Aerith turned around to face Tifa with a calm smile. “Thank you.”

Tifa nodded, giving her a warm look.

“So, how do I look?” Aerith asked as she put her hands on her hips.

“Perfect. As always,” Tifa told her.

“Oh, you…” Aerith blushed as she playfully waved Tifa away. “I’ll get it, then!”

“Okay! Want to look for shoes together?” Tifa asked.

“Sure—after you get me out of this dress again,” Aerith said as she turned back around.

“Oh—right!” Tifa moved forward and was about to start unbuttoning the top—when Aerith put a hand on hers to stop her.

“Tifa… Do you know why I picked out this color?” Aerith asked in a quiet voice.

“…No?”

“It’s the same color as your eyes,” Aerith explained as she turned around to face her. “I love your eyes. Beautiful, radiant, and kind… just like you. I love you, Tifa.”

Tifa stood frozen, in disbelief at what she heard—but…she wasn’t dreaming, was she?

“And I don’t mean that in a gal-pal kind of way,” Aerith quickly added. “Judging by how flustered you got when you saw my boobs, I’m guessing you’re not into the gal-pal thing anyway.” Aerith softly giggled. “But you did say I was perfect so… does that mean I have a chance?”

Tifa felt her whole body thrum with the skipped beat of her heart. “A chance…?”

“To be your girlfriend.”

Tifa would have fainted if she didn’t feel so alive after Aerith said this to her face.

“I’m not dreaming, am I? Aerith, you—you want to—“ Tifa gulped because she couldn’t finish her sentence.

“I told you from the beginning—this was a date,” Aerith said with a twinkle of her eye. “And I absolutely meant it! Although…I think I should take you on a real date… if you want?”

Tifa was dumbstruck and didn’t know how to answer.

“Wow, you’re acting like Cloud now!” Aerith said with a chortle as she covered her mouth. “Please tell me I’m not mistaken about your feelings…? Otherwise, this would be incredibly embarrassing!”

“No! You’re not!” Tifa rushed forward and held Aerith’s hands. “I just… can’t believe it. You… want to be my girlfriend?”

“If you’ll have me,” Aerith replied, anxiously searching Tifa’s eyes.

Tifa smiled and nodded enthusiastically. “Yes! I do! I want you to be my girlfriend, too!”

“Great!” Aerith grinned and squeezed at Tifa’s hands. Her face was rosy and her eyes were shining. “I’m so happy, Tifa!”

“Me, too!” Tifa brought a hand up to brush a strand of hair behind Aerith’s ear. “How about we just buy these dresses, keep them on… and go on a real date right now?”

“Really? You want to?” Aerith jumped up and clapped her hands. “Oh… but what about Cloud?”

“We’ll pay him extra,” Tifa said with a wink. “It’ll be worth it…to have the perfect first date with my girlfriend.”

Aerith smiled as she blushed a deep red, almost matching the shade of the dress she wore. “You called me your girlfriend…”

“Well, that’s what you are now,” Tifa said with a blush. “And I forgot to say it back just now, but… I love you, too, Aerith.”

Aerith bit her lip as she smiled again, as if she couldn’t contain her happiness. “Well… Put on your dress, Tifa! Then we can leave this shop and get to our date!”

“Okay!”

+

After Tifa and Aerith bought their dresses and matching shoes to fully outfit themselves, Aerith stopped Tifa just before walking out of the shop.

“What is it, Aerith?” Tifa asked.

Aerith was glancing at her up and down again with an expression of appraisal. “Wow…”

“You already saw me in this,” Tifa said with a laugh.

“I know! But with the shoes now…WOW!”

Tifa blushed and giggled. “Wow at you too!”

“We should go shopping together more often,” Aerith said with a flick of her eyebrow.

Tifa giggled as she reached for Aerith’s hand and laced their fingers together. “I agree!”

They walked out of the shop hand in hand to see a grumpy-looking Cloud sitting with his arms crossed. He was sitting on a bench with the rest of their shopping bags. “Really, what took you both so long?”

But when he looked up and saw the two girls properly, Cloud’s mouth dropped and he froze.

“What do you think, Cloud?” Tifa cheerfully asked as she spun around in Aerith’s hold.

“…Uh… why are you both…wearing that?” Cloud asked with a gulp.

“We have to look nice for our first real date, duh!” Aerith said with a roll of her eyes.

“…Your first 'real' date?”

Tifa sympathetically smiled at Cloud. “I’ll pay you extra, Cloud, you just have to hold onto all our stuff while we go out.”

“Wait—that wasn’t part of the deal!” Cloud protested.

“It is now!” Aerith winked at him.

“Please…?” Tifa asked with a cute tilt of her head.

Cloud crossed his arms and huffed out a sigh again. “…Fine.”

Aerith grabbed Tifa’s hand and grinned. “So where to?”

“Umm… anywhere you’d like to go?” Tifa asked.

“Anywhere with you is fine!” Aerith enthusiastically answered.

Tifa smiled at Aerith and Aerith smiled back, both saying nothing to each other.

“Haven’t you two been on a shopping date all day already?” Cloud asked. “Where else do you need to go?”

“Well…where do you think two girlfriends should go on their first date?” Aerith asked.

“Wait… girlfriends…you mean you’re going on a date for real?” Cloud asked.

Tifa ducked her head bashfully. “It kind of just happened…five minutes ago!”

“So that’s why you were blushing so much…” Cloud said with a flick of his eyebrow.

“Shut up, Cloud…” Tifa whispered through her teeth.

“You know… Cloud just made a point.” Aerith turned to Tifa and turned her by the waist so they were facing each other. “How about we make it official? So no one has any doubt of what we are to each other…”

“What do you mean?” Tifa asked with a confused furrow of her brow.

“Can I kiss you, Tifa?”

Tifa blushed. “Right now? On the street in front of everyone?”

“Mhmm! What better way to let everyone else know you’re off-limits?” Aerith told Tifa with a wink.

Tifa nervously swallowed.

Aerith’s giddy look faltered as she saw Tifa’s anxious expression. “Unless you’re not comfortable with it…?”

Tifa shook her head. “Do you know how many times I’ve thought about kissing you today?”

Aerith was about to answer—when Tifa hooked an arm around her waist and leaned in to meet her lips in an enthusiastic kiss. Aerith wasn’t flustered, though, and immediately brought her hands up to clasp Tifa’s neck and the back of her head. Even though Cloud was standing right there and they were in the middle of a busy market, Tifa felt like time had stopped and the world went quiet. Aerith’s lips on her lips, her sweet scent, and the way her bangs brushed on Tifa’s cheeks were the only things that existed.

When they finally pulled away from each other, Tifa stared at Aerith, admiring how fresh-faced and rosy she looked—she was just like a flower herself. Aerith was gazing back at her with the same level of admiration and a lazy smile grew on her lips.

“You even kiss perfectly, too,” Aerith breathed out

“Can you just tell me where we’re going next?” Cloud interrupted, though his cheeks were visibly rosy after witnessing their kiss.

“Aww, Cloud… feeling left out?” Aerith teased.

“Nope,” he muttered.

Tifa giggled. “Sorry—this was all a bit sudden, right?”

“Whatever, congratulations—just tell me we’re going somewhere that doesn’t require me to stand in the sun doing nothing but holding your bags!”

Aerith giggled. “My, my, Mr. Grumpypants!”

She reached down and grabbed Tifa’s hand. “Shall we torment him some more?”

“We’ve barely even done anything to him,” Tifa replied with a laugh.

Aerith gave her a devilish grin. “I’ll take that as a yes!”

“Playing with Cloud is fun, but…I do want to focus on you. You’re my girlfriend after all,” Tifa tenderly told her.

“True… then maybe we can ditch Cloud while we go make out somewhere!” Aerith whispered.

“What was that?” Cloud snapped.

“Nothing!” Tifa cheerfully replied.

“For real though…” Aerith said in a whisper.

Tifa laughed as Aerith pulled her along, not waiting for Cloud to catch up.


End file.
